"Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men."

Also, this:

"It seems like, to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man's anus. That's just me. I'm just thinking: There's more there! She's got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I'm saying? But hey, sin: It's not logical, my man. It's just not logical."

It's all very unfortunate. A&E says his views "in no way reflect" their own, and that the network has "always been [a] strong supporter and champion of the LGBT community." Robertson quickly followed with a statement of his own, describing himself as "a child of the '60s." In that context, he says:

"I centered my life around sex, drugs and rock and roll until I hit rock bottom and accepted Jesus as my Savior. My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the Bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together. However, I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other."

The thing is, Robertson's religious beliefs should come as no surprise to A&E. Episodes of Duck Dynasty often end with the family sitting down for dinner together, with Phil leading the table in a pre-meal prayer. Last year he even claimed the network was even taking steps to remove references to Jesus from the show — because the editors "don't want to offend some of the Muslims, or something," he opined at the time.

Now I'm a gay man. And I don't think of either a man's anus or woman's vagina as particularly "desirable" — it just so happens that the people I choose to have sex with don't have vaginas and, to be honest, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about genitala (male or female) outside of a sex context. (Unless I'm enjoying one of these galleries.) That's just me. Phil's opinions, and certainly his phrasings, are pretty gross — but they are just his opinions, and I'm OK with not agreeing with everyone/everything that plays out on cable TV reality shows. For A&E to muzzle him over an issue they could have probably seen coming seems excessive. Also, it allows a certain set to turn the controversy into one about free speech rather than a discussion over whether it's nice (or even particularly Christian) to think that a man loving another man is inherently wrong. Indeed, good ol' Sarah Palin has already chimed in to note that Robertson's style of free speech "is [becoming] an endangered species."

Duck Dynasty is billed as a reality TV show, and if Phil Robertson's reality includes the odd bout of rampant homophobia, then why shouldn't that be reflected? Those of us that don't appreciate it can just switch back to the Kardashians, who are all much better groomed too.